Study Partners
by WGW Llams
Summary: Yukio is tired of Rin being dismissive and lax over his terrible grades and decides one day that he's had enough. He enlists Suguro's reluctant assistance in the hopes that his older brother will adopt Suguro's work ethic. Yukio's wishes are granted with unexpected results. One-shot.


AN/ I wanted to try out the whole idea with Rin getting unbelievably bad grades and Suguro being forced to fix it somehow because I thought it was... well. To be frank, I think it's super cute. So here it goes!

* * *

"Nii-san, I think you need someone to watch over your studies," Yukio said one day as he labored over a mission report. He glanced from his desk to his supine brother, tapping his pen against the wooden surface in thought.

At the exorcist's right, Rin laid in his bed, flipping through the manga in his hands. In response to the suggestion, he dismissively mumbled, "Yeah. Whatever you say, spotty four-eyes." The story was reaching its climax and he couldn't stop turning the pages, not even for his younger brother's insistent desire to make him study more than he needed to.

Yukio eyed Rin with a plan forming in mind.

* * *

Suguro listened to the perverted ramblings of Shima and the protests of Konekomaru as the class filtered out of the room, the trio included.

"Suguro-kun, would you mind if I talked to you?" the young teacher called out before Suguro could step out.

The star student blinked—at first, confused by the call—then he shrugged, deciding that it wasn't likely that he was in any trouble. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up," he informed the two peering behind him. Shima and Konekomaru stood there for a moment, deliberating between the possibility of getting lunch and the chance to see what Yukio wanted. Their stomachs growled, the former of desires winning over, and the two bode Suguro a cheerful 'See ya in a bit, Bon' as they followed the rest of their classmates out.

Rin was the only one remaining, watching Yukio and Suguro curiously with swaying tail and cheeks pushed up with his palms. "Is Suguro in trouble?" Then he grinned, "Ooooh, Suguro's in trouble."

The angular face twisted into a hard scowl, cheeks turning a hint of pink in the midst of the glare he pinned onto the half-demon, "Look who's talkin', Okumura. Ya get so many detentions I'm surprised that you got time to go to class."

"With how weird your hair is, I'm surprised that it doesn't grow wings and lay eggs on your head," Rin shot back, a scowl also present on his lips.

"At least my hair can go back to its original color," Suguro hissed, "your ears'll always make ya look like a hobbit."

Rin's glare met Suguro's and the clash of gazes were akin lightning bolts humming sharply in the air.

Yukio cleared his throat., reminding the two that his presence had not magically disappeared. "By the way, I'm glad that you stayed, Nii-san. You read my mind exactly," the young exorcist smiled and Rin felt a chill down his spine.

"Okumura-sensei," Suguro was the first of the pair to sober from the childish squabble, "what exactly did ya keep us here for?"

"Nii-san," the younger Okumura regarded his brother with a glance, "you're aware that your grades are terrible."

The star pupil of the class coughed out a poorly hidden snicker. Rin bristled. "Yeah. Well—my skills show in battle," he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets, tail winding about his waist. "Who cares about some stupid papers and shit."

"The Vatican does," Yukio pointed out, "and you need to pass the test if you're ever going to convince them that you're worth their time."

That shut Rin's mouth and he blushed in embarrassment at the amused look Suguro wore.

"What's anythin' about this gotta do with me?" Suguro inquired, leaning against the entryway of the classroom with arms crossed.

"I was thinking that, as the best student in the class, you would be so kind as to lend my brother a hand."

There was silence.

And then Rin sputtered, "No way."

"Even if I opened up his skull and poured in all the knowledge of the world, it wouldn't go anywhere with no brain to suck it up," Suguro snorted.

"I've gotta brain, asshole," the half-demon glowered, tail whipping agitatedly behind him. He stamped over, jabbed a finger into the broad chest, "And _this_ brain can take anything you throw at it."

The aria-in-training sneered, "How about a punch?"

"Probably more punches than you could dish out," Rin's lip curled back and his canines flashed.

"We're studyin' in your room," Suguro announced, scowling, "six in the evenin'. Don't forget your textbooks, dumb-ass." He stormed out, muttering expletives under his breath.

"I wouldn't be able to forget them 'cause I already forgot them in my room!" Rin shouted after Suguro, glowering in the direction that the other left. "I'll show him," he growled, stomping to his dormitory to clean up the mess he left there earlier on in the morning.

Yukio, left alone in the classroom, pushed up his glasses by the middle of the frame. "That went better than expected."

* * *

The clock dully knocked against the wall in mild thrums of every second passed. Rin stared intently at his textbook, fighting against the desire to fall asleep.

In front of the half-demon, Suguro was quiet, thumbing through his own textbook with thoughtful murmurs and a soft hum of understanding whenever his finger traced a familiar line.

It was difficult. Rin's eyelids were becoming heavy and the words blurred slightly as they weighed down for what felt like a split-second. He woke with a start, cussing loudly as his knee slammed against the underside of the table. Brown eyes heeded him, clearly unimpressed by his lack of endurance.

"Ya readin' it, Okumura?"

"O' course I am," Rin spat back, forcefully flipping the page that he'd been on for the past ten minutes. "I'm just so into it that I gotta close my eyes and calm down."

"Right," Suguro rolled his eyes, returned his attention to the textbook in front of him.

Desperately, Rin's tail flung into frustrated squirming on the floor. He wanted to throw himself out the window and feel the pain of rolling against cement, to feel Kurikara slice through wild demons who couldn't be contained—and he had the slightest need to pee but that was negligible. With that, he stared with a sort of longing at the textbooks, wishing nothing more than to burn them with his flames and be done with it.

"...Oi, stop that!" his 'tutor' hissed in front of him and Rin jolted out of his fantasies when something got a tight hold of his tail. "I can't study if ya keep attackin' me with this thing."

"I wasn't!" the half-demon insisted, flinching at the squeeze of his tail. "And... leggo, that actually really hurts," he restrained himself from flipping the table when the squeeze tightened further, "_augh_." His face automatically met the wooden surface of the table as Suguro panicked, hand smoothing out fur bristled by the touch.

"S-sorry," Suguro was surprised at how soft Rin's tail actually was and released it as soon as he felt the fur was neatened in appearance. "Y' okay?"

Rin made a pained noise, thighs snapping shut at the horrific realization that his body had betrayed him in a way that he never thought it could. "Yeah," he muttered, his voice more a whimper than speech, "I'm cool."

"Ya want me to comb it or...?"

The half-demon could feel Suguro reaching for his tail again and he prevented it from happening, snatching his tail back to his chest and hugging it. "Don't ever touch my tail," Rin quickly stated, ignoring the throbbing area where the other had touched. "Got it?"

"Got it," resigned, Suguro slunk back to his textbook, face slightly more flushed than previously. The apology came out easily, genuinely, "Sorry."

"Accepted," the blue-haired teen responded with equal ease. "Let's just go back to studying."

Suguro took the opportunity to say, "You were studyin'? I thought ya'd just been sittin' there, gapin' at the wall with such a big mouth that I swear a fly swooped in and slept there for a good half hour."

"I was studying, damn you cock-a-doodle-doo!"

The tension melted and they were back to arguing once more.

* * *

The second study session was slightly more successful than the first, with Rin actively awake rather than seconds away from planting his face on the textbook.

Suguro was mildly impressed by the fact that Rin's eyes moved across the page without heavy eyelids getting in the way. "Good boy," he applauded the effort, reaching over and ruffling the other's hair.

Rin didn't swat Suguro away, a hint of pink spreading on his cheeks. "I'm only reading the textbook," he grumbled, unable to dismiss the bubbling pride at his chest that refused to die down. "Stop treating me like a dog." He gripped onto his wagging tail, mentally swearing at the extremity's honesty.

"You're doin' better than last time," the older noted, smirked when Rin seethed. "I'm not jokin'. Keep it up and maybe you'll pass this time, Okumura."

"Ya think?" Rin allowed his tail to wriggle excitedly, clasped onto Suguro's hand with both palms.

"Er," Suguro, caught off-guard, nodded slowly, "yeah. Ya just gotta keep workin' on it." He made no move to remove the half-demon from his person, feeling the slightest bit frozen by the not-quite-soft hands and the pleasantly warm touch. Their hands had not yet parted until he pried them away. "I'll quiz y' again after this, so don't slack," the taller grunted, ignoring the tingle of his wrists where Rin's fingertips had grazed.

The half-demon grinned, dragged the textbook toward him. "I'll ace it for sure."

It was doubtful, Suguro thought, but he wasn't about to rip the smile off Rin's face. At least, not until Rin got distracted by being hungry again.

* * *

"I didn't know there was so much in a textbook," Rin told Yukio over dinner, balancing his spoon on two fingers over the bowl of miso he'd made. "It's boring, but when you really read it, there's some pretty legit stuff in there. Still boring, though."

Hidden by his own spoon, a grin molded the younger Okumura's lips, "I see that Suguro-kun's done wonders to your work ethic, Nii-san."

"Pssh," the half-demon waved it off at first, snorting. But then the meaning sunk into his mind and his eyes dropped to his soup. His murky reflection was one of a smile. "I guess so."

* * *

"How have Nii-san's studies been going, Suguro-kun?" Yukio inquired after school a few days past. "I've noticed that he's been paying more attention to class—and sleeping less," the young teacher added wryly, "which I imagine means that you've had quite the productive week or two."

Suguro was surprised that a week had passed and that he hadn't felt the urge to throw himself out the window even once. "He's doin' pretty well," the star pupil replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "it's kinda crazy." Through the practice tests and the study sessions, Rin hadn't slacked off in the least.

"No difficulties at all?"

There were times that Suguro was concerned: when Rin's eyes started to glaze over, stared at his face as he provided an explanation, tail falling limp. The moments were rare—slightly uncomfortable—but it didn't appear to have a negative effect on his charge's learning. "Nah. 'Cept that he's an idiot sometimes."

"Who're you calling an idiot—?!" it was just then that Rin popped into the classroom, two bento boxes in hand. His mouth was scrunched in a scowl as he slammed the bento the desk hard enough to break it.

Suguro had the shame to blush, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away from the bristling teen. "Sorry."

"Don't—" Rin's mouth snapped shut when he realized how easily his tutor apologized. "...Eh?"

"You're less of an idiot than I thought ya were," Suguro reached over and ruffled Rin's hair in a rhythm so natural to the pair that it was Yukio's rising eyebrows that led to Suguro's mental backtrack of his action. There was split-second regret but the red that tinted Rin's cheeks and the way the other's lips hinted toward a smile made it easy shake it off.

"You're less of an asshole than I thought you were," Rin lightly grazed his knuckles on Suguro's shoulder in a mock-punch. A cough from the side reminded him of why he came there in the first place. His eyes widened momentarily at the recollection and he turned to hand his confused brother one of the bento boxes. "I almost forgot to give you your lunch."

"...Nii-san, I've told you that I can afford my own lunch," Yukio insisted despite the fact that he was salivating for a taste of what his older brother made him. "You don't have to—"

"Shut up and eat it, Yukio," Rin patted the bento box fondly, "or I'll eat it myself. I packed sashimi and everything." The threat was taken as seriously as Yukio wasted no time in snatching it away from his grinning brother.

Yukio frowned as he restrained himself from cradling the bento box in front of his brother and Suguro. "Next time, I won't accept it."

"Ah," Rin's grin widened and he tugged at Suguro to follow him out of the room. "Sure. Let's go eat lunch, Suguro. Unless you wanna join?"

"...I'll see you later, Nii-san," resignation clear on young features, the dragoon smiled wryly.

The older Okumura's tail swayed in victory, "Back at ya, spotty four-eyes."

Amidst the exchange, Suguro had eyed the bento boxes that Rin held.

The half-demon noticed.

* * *

Rin nibbled at the tonkatsu he made, watching the bi-colored hair shift and bob as the pen quietly scratched at the papers. His three previous tests were already in hand and he shuffled through them with a self-satisfied smile. His first practice test score had been five percent, the next fourteen percent, and then it jumped to twenty-six percent on the third. The praise he received for each one was of equal value to him—a soft smile, a wrinkle near brown eyes, the ruffle of his hair. Not only that, but the pride that gleamed in Suguro's eyes whenever he mentioned Rin's practice test grades made Rin's chest dreamily light and his stomach warm and bubbly. It had yet to change. He wasn't entirely stupid that he didn't notice but he wasn't entirely sure what it meant either.

"Nice work, Okumura."

The recent practice test was fanned out for Rin to see and he grinned at his grade—which had leapt up another five percent. The content was becoming more and more familiar, and Rin was glad that Suguro had accepted his younger brother's order—albeit reluctantly. "I'm pretty sure I'll ace a test by the end of this year," Rin held up the practice test with a breathless laugh, "maybe I'll get an eighty or something."

"Big dreams," came a snort, cheek rested in palm, "ya got ways to go."

Rin huffed at that, slapping the arm that supported Suguro's head. He was faintly surprised that he'd provided enough force to make the arm falter and laughed loudly when Suguro's face hit the table. A dull thump was all it was but the silent shame that followed after gave him an even better laugh than before.

After recovering from the embarrassing impact, Suguro launched an eraser at Rin's head and growled as it hit right on the target. "Idiot." While Rin whined, the taller remembered what he was planning to mention. "Actually," the tutor slid his backpack toward himself, taking out a little black planner from the front, "I know for a fact that we gotta test next week."

"It's in the bag," the half-demon punched the palm of his other hand, tail whipping at the air. "You prepared me for this, Suguro-sensei. I won't fail you." Rin held out a hand for Suguro to shake with a serious expression coloring his features.

The expression that painted Suguro's was one of incredulity. "Suguro-sensei," the tutor echoed, eying the hand before him, "what kinda nonsense are y' spoutin' off?"

Seriousness melted off Rin's face as a sheepish smile curled in its place. "I read it in a manga somewhere." He wriggled his fingers out to Suguro in a manner that caused the other to wrinkle his nose his distaste. "Now shake my hand."

"If it makes you shut up," the older of the pair took the open palm with visible reluctance and shook Rin's hand. Without warning, a strong pull dragged him forward into a half hug with his pupil and he sputtered, flustered, as Rin's smile pressed into his shoulder. "What's it now—?"

A muffled 'thank you' was his answer.

Instead of the insult that was manifesting itself at the tip of his tongue, speechlessness was Suguro's response. Tentative fingers twitched over the top of Rin's head before Suguro stroked the dark blue locks before him. "...Yeah."

* * *

"Ya haven't answered my question, Bon," directing his chopsticks at said teen, Shima pointedly smiled an unamused smile, "what've ya been doin' these past few evenings?"

The older shrugged, "Busy's all. Oh—Koneko, mind tradin'?" Turning to the bespectacled teen, Suguro held up one of his cold onigiri and pointed at Konekomaru's. "I got tuna."

"Shrimp," the youngest answered with some thought, "and sure."

The exchange was made with a grain of rice or two scattering across the table's surface. Both parties bit into their onigiri at the same time, mildly pleased by the trade.

"Don't ignore me!" the pink-haired teen shook his fist before dropping his elbows onto the table and cradling his jaw with his hands. A sigh breathed past his lips before he inquired, "Anyone'a ya want eel?"

"Shima, why didn't ya say ya had eel the first place?" Suguro scowled. "I got some gyoza left over, if ya want."

In the midst of contemplation, Shima caught a glimpse of dark blue hair and unnaturally sharp canines. He stood up, waving, "Okumura-kun!"

A smile was clear, even through the influx of students struggling to get a lunch, as Rin wrestled his way through the flood of people. Suguro automatically made room and the half-demon took it graciously. "Yo, Suguro, Konekomaru—Shima."

"Why was my name last?" the pink-haired teen furrowed his brows.

"Because you're last on my list," Rin paused as Shima sputtered, "you aren't on the list at all, now that I think about it."

"What list?" Konekomaru interjected curiously.

Shima waved it off with an emphatic flail of hands. "It's not important, haha..."

"Ah, that reminds me!" the previous flow of conversation flew over the half-demon's head as he scooted closer to the startled Suguro, hand digging into his bag. "I got you something."

"What about me?" Shima whined in the background. "What'd ya get me?"

"It's okay, Shima-san. I didn't get anythin' either," the shortest of the group patted Shima's back comfortingly.

Meanwhile, Suguro blinked in the face of Rin's bright, eager eyes. "Got me... somethin'?"

"Here!"

A bento was shoved into Suguro's unsuspecting hands and he dumbly said, "Bento?" Heat erupted on his face and his intelligible reply came up as, "Huh?"

Rin rubbed the back of his neck, gaze sinking to the table, "You've been helping me out, so I figured that I should do something for you too. I saw how you were looking at the bento I made Yukio and... y'know, I felt bad that since you're always in my room and all, and I never thought to make you dinner or anything before or after or during or whatever."

Shima's jaw dropped.

"S'cool," Suguro mumbled, setting the warm bento beside the lunch that he had bought, "ya don't owe me that anythin'. Okumura-sensei forced me to do it and it's not like I would'a done it otherwise."

"Okumura-sensei...?" Shima echoed, feeling faint all of a sudden.

"But you're so awesome at it!" Rin insisted. "I'd never be able to keep going like this on my own. I'd give up halfway through and sleep or something."

Shima was sure he was hearing things because Konekomaru was peacefully eating beside him and—and was he the only one that understood what exactly was going on?

The tallest of the group cracked a smile, opening up the bento box and eying the contents with poorly hidden hunger. "Can't say anythin' about that. The second y' opened it up, ya'd pass out. I didn't know that was possible."

Neither did Shima.

"I don't get how you don't," the half-demon clucked his tongue, popping open his own bento, "but you're Suguro, so..."

"Ya just put too much pressure on yourself," stated Suguro, "keep focus, trace with your finger, and use your mouth. Ya use it way too much every time but then."

"What's that supposed to mean, cock-a-doodle?"

"Exactly what I meant to say, idiot."

"How about I strangle—"

"—Wait—wait, wait, waitwaitwait," Shima broke into the conversation before it could get any more heated. "Were ya guys talkin' about what I think you're talkin' about?"

The pair stared at Shima, lost.

"What're yousayin'?" Suguro asked, looking to Konekomaru for help.

Mouth full of noodles, the aforementioned bald teen shrugged.

Slowly, Shima lifted up his hands, making a circle with his left, then a finger from his right poked into that circle and Suguro instantly caught on, face turning bright red in response. It took a few seconds for it to click in Rin's mind, but when it did, his colors matched the other's.

Rin's tail was stiff around his body but the thought planted a curious seed that rooted with strange success. His eyes wandered over to Suguro, taking in the horrified expression. It quickly transformed into one of furious embarrassment as Suguro shot up, grabbing onto Shima's shirt collar with a snarl on his lips.

"What the—how—you—" the eldest of the group stumbled over his words as he tried to gather his wits together, "_Shima, I'll kill you_."

"Bon-san, please don't kill Shima-san!"

"Can't... can't breathe..."

While Konekomaru pleaded for peace, Rin poked at his cooling rice. "It doesn't sound so bad," he wanted to say aloud but kept his tongue pressed against the back of his teeth and ate his lunch quietly.

* * *

The door slammed open when test day came. And with the slam, Rin entered the classroom. The pin that Suguro gave him held his bangs back and a hachimaki with the words "ACE IT" written bold and dark in black marker stamped his forehead. He strode in with a certain confidence to his step that was unusual considering what the class would soon lead up to.

"Good luck, Rin-chan," Shiemi greeted him with a smile as he took his seat beside her.

The half-demon beamed, nodded. "Good luck to you too, Shiemi." He turned around and held up a thumbs-up motion at his tutor, smiling as he gained a small nod and a smile in return.

"And good luck to all of you," Yukio repeated the statement to the class, a thin stack of papers in hand, "please face the front, Okumura-kun."

"Yeah, yeah," Rin followed the order, grin occupying the curve of his lips, "bring it on, Yukio."

The young teacher quirked a brow at the challenge but was unable to stop himself from mirroring the expression.

Soon enough, the test papers were passed out.

In Suguro's opinion, the test was painfully simple. There was one question that caught him off guard, but on further examination, it was as easy as the rest. With the rest of the hour at his disposal, he watched the open reactions that Rin displayed so easily. Annoyance, then dawning realization, followed by bright excitement—for each question. The catch was that it wasn't the other's face that he derived those from, but from the movement of the half-demon's expressive tail.

It was almost cute.

His thoughts ended like a train crash once the off-handed note fully came to consciousness. He ducked his head, clasping a hand over his suddenly dark red face. That action garnered curious glances from his companions sitting beside him but he was too busy controlling his gaze to notice.

* * *

D-day. The tests were passed back and Rin remained silent throughout the entire class, staring at the piece of paper in front of him. He was so silent, in fact, that the rest of his classmates exchanged worried looks. Suguro's concern was unrivaled as the half-demon's tail remained stagnantly still.

Right as class ended, Rin made a beeline to Suguro, tail quivering behind him while he hugged the paper to his chest. The paper was held so that the other couldn't see it and the anticipation was killing him. Not a word was said as Suguro was promptly dragged out of the classroom but the other couldn't bring it in himself to say anything against it.

Once they were out in the hall, Rin's head dipped and there was a noise that sounded like Rin was biting back the desire to sob. "This is... I can't believe..."

"Oi, Okumura," panicked by the tears that were ready to pour from wet blue eyes, Suguro put a hand on the other's shoulder, "calm down. It's okay—I swear you'll do better next time." He was so sure that Rin was about to start crying that it was twice as shocking that the half-demon embraced him, deceivingly lithe arms so strong that he struggled to breathe. "Okumura—?" The test fluttered to the floor and Suguro caught sight of a bright sixty-one at the upper corner.

"I'm so happy," the furry tail wriggled happily as Rin buried his face into Suguro's chest with a grin so wide that his face threatened to split in half. "I don't know what to say but—but thank you so much!"

Mind blank of any possible reply, the 'tutor' was unable to control the blush that rapidly overtook his features. "A... ah." Rin's tail was wagging and the word cute pulsed in his mind louder than ever. This time, he couldn't mute it.

* * *

Rin couldn't believe that he was standing in front of Suguro's door—not to beg for another study session, but to give him a gift. His hand trembled as he reached out to knock on the door, cursing himself inwardly at the strange nervousness that swallowed up his previous confidence. "I'm only giving him cookies," he muttered to himself, tail tightening around his torso, "nothing to get all scared over."

"Scared of what?"

He whipped around, both annoyed and relieved at the sight of Shima peering inquisitively at him. If it had been Suguro, he was sure he would've dropped his present on the floor. "Nothing." The box was held a little tighter to his chest. "Suguro here?" Silently, he prayed that his tutor wasn't. Then he could hold off on the meeting for a bit longer and practice how to keep his cool.

"He's still taking a bath, I think," in emphasis to the point, Shima tugged at the towel around his neck. "I started before he did."

The relief that washed away the tenseness of his features was unparalleled. "When's he gonna be done?" Rin tapped the box in his hand. "I wanna give him a present since he helped me pass the test."

"I can give it to him for ya," Shima offered, holding out a hand. "He'll probably take around ten more minutes or so. You can wait in the room if ya wanna, too."

"I..." his throat squeezed and he deliberated between his choices. He wanted to see Suguro's face when he gave him the cookies, but at the same time he didn't want to deal with the awkward that might happen right after. The former won over and he answered, "I'll wait."

Shima shrugged, opening the door. "Your call."

Rin started to enter the room and sat down on Suguro's spotless bed with a hint of anxiety making his tail twitch against his stomach. Panic groped at his chest when Shima didn't enter the room. "Y-you gonna come in?"

"Eh?" the pink-haired teen furrowed his brows. "I was gonna go down to the cafeteria and get some milk. You not okay with hangin' here without anyone? I personally don't care."

A forced laugh clambered its way out of Rin's throat. "Nah. I was just wondering."

Shima's brows rose up and then a knowing smile appeared that made Rin's face go hot. "Ah. I get it. Don't worry. If Bon jumps ya, just keep the door locked."

Before Rin could protest or whatever action his weakened mouth could conjure under stress, the door closed and he was alone. He clutched onto his box of homemade cookies in an attempt to prevent his wandering hands from searching around the room, failing when he spotted neatly stacked papers on Suguro's nightstand.

Holding the box, he stood up from the bed and approached it with tentative curiosity. Rin examined the papers from afar at first, then he set the box of cookies on the bed to look at them closer. The papers were filled with questions that had been in his practice tests, along with questions that were crossed out with small, fine notes written on the margin beside them.

'_Too detailed_'

'_More simplified_'

'_Already mastered – another topic_'

'_Too many of these questions in one test, need to spread out to others_'

He was so engrossed by the neat print that he barely heard the door open behind him. Rin asked, "Shima, how long does Suguro usually take to write these?"

"Why not just ask me?"

Rin quickly turned around, pink crawling up his cheeks when he saw that it was, indeed, Suguro standing at the door. "Suguro! Sorry, I wanted to see what it was. I couldn't help myself."

"No need t' apologize," Suguro combed back the curtain of hair hanging over his eyes with no success, "can ya hand me the clip next to the papers? My hair's gettin' in the way." He normally kept the fringe down, but with Rin in the room, he felt it more proper otherwise.

Rin picked up the hair clip and plodded over to the other. Before he could give the hair clip, he stood there, in front of Suguro, trying his best not to inhale the warm, clean scent.

"Okumura, what're ya doin'?" the taller inquired, eyebrows bowing downward. "You gonna give it or what?" He was startled by a hug around his shoulders and a nose pressing into his neck.

"...Can I hug you?" was the belated question and Suguro couldn't formulate an exact response other than a small nod that he knew Rin couldn't see. It didn't seem that Rin particularly cared, nor did Suguro. There was a sweet scent of almond cookies and it was coming from the warm body pressing against his. His face tilted down and he nuzzled the top of Rin's head with his nose, restraining himself from outright breathing in the mildly saccharine aroma as he returned the hug.

Suguro could have stood there forever—and he probably would have tried if the door hadn't started to open. They separated with a certain unwillingness that lingered in their eyes and Shima came into the room, carton of milk in hand.

"Did it happen?" Shima's gaze shifted between the both of them, the pair standing in the middle of the room in awkward silence. "Did Bon jump ya?"

As while Rin's face crimsoned, Suguro ground out, "Nothin' happened." In the back of Suguro's mind,he told himself that it was the other way around, but he settled for glaring at the peacefully smiling face of his roommate.

"Yeah. That's why Okumura-kun's all wrapped around ya."

Confused, Rin and Suguro looked down to see that Rin's tail had escaped his shirt and encircled its way about the other's waist. A red Rin retracted his tail to merely swing behind him and he muttered a quiet sorry. Suguro shrugged off the apology, channeling his rage Shima with a threatening step forward.

Holding up his hands, Shima's black eyes flitted about the room in search of an excuse. "Did you give Bon the present?" switching up topics, the pink-haired teen pointed at the box that laid innocently on Suguro's bed, directing the angry attention away from him.

"Present?"

"Oh yeah," Rin grabbed the box and handed it to Suguro, who took it hesitantly. "I got you a present, since you helped me pass the test."

Suguro rubbed the back of his head, flustered for the second time. "It's no big deal. You could'a done it yourself."

"No way," Rin shook his head, blue eyes bright, "I can't thank you enough."

Shima watched the two converse in an awkward dance of jumbled words and flushed faces, wondering when the two would stop dancing with words and have sex already. There was no way he would ever tell Suguro that—not without getting murdered, anyway.

* * *

"Do you mind if I reheat something from earlier today?" Rin asked sheepishly as he stood up from the table. "I still need some more groceries, so I can't really make anything fresh right now."

"Anything's good," Suguro replied, looking up from his textbook to give his companion a nod.

The younger flashed a grin and practically disappeared out of the room with only the lilt of his tail curling near the doorway as evidence that he'd gone through the door.

Suguro took a break from studying to hold his face with one hand, thinking about how the half-demon hugged him two days prior, how he hadn't protested once and responded positively in turn. Some small part of his brain—not that small, he grudgingly admitted—wanted to hug Rin again. Maybe even more, a smaller part of his brain whispered. Although smaller, the idea reverberated throughout his body to the point of phantom tingles emerging at his lips.

"I made curry rice for lunch today," the center of his thoughts manifested seemingly out of nowhere, balancing two bowls and two spoons. "Chicken's what Yukio wanted, so..."

The delicious scent pulled him away from his vaguely uncomfortable thoughts by making his stomach growl. "Sounds good," Suguro quickly replied, reaching out as Rin passed the bowl to him. He nearly dropped it when their fingers brushed but—somehow—he managed to get a grip on both himself and the bowl without completely embarrassing himself. "Thanks."

As they shifted the textbooks and papers aside to make room for the food, Rin spoke, "If you want anything else, just ask." In front of him, Suguro made an affirmative sound and mumbled a 'got it.' Help established, Rin halfheartedly dug his spoon into the curry rice he'd made. To the untrained tongue, it tasted good. To him, it was lacking another pinch of salt.

He had been thinking too hard then, not engaged enough in cooking. It was abnormal. Ukobach tried to pry the details out of him but he kept his lips shut. He wanted to complain to someone; at the same time, he would rather die than let his younger brother overhear. It was bad enough that they once shared the same bathroom and he had accidentally used Yukio's toothbrush—needless to say, Yukio and him now used different bathrooms in the building—but to be sharing relationship problems?

He would rather not.

And yet Suguro was still in his room, sitting across from him, eating the food he had made. There was a strangely bubbly sensation at his stomach that he had once tried to chalk off as gas and now accepted as a weird fluttery sort of joy whenever Suguro was around. He rubbed the length of the spoon, question forming against the roof of his mouth and the curl of his tongue.

"...About before," Suguro beat him to the punch, tilting the spoon's contents into a slow slide back into the bowl. Rin's breath held for a moment as the other deliberated on what to say, "...I didn't mind it."

"Didn't mind what?" his rash mouth unhelpfully supplied. The half-demon was an inch away from digging his face into the bowl of curry rice but Suguro didn't seem close to strangling him nor was any sort of glare sent in his direction.

The other merely went red, brown eyes seemingly fixated on the contents of the bowl. "The... hug," Suguro choked out, face reddening further.

Rin's stomach did a back flip and a half while a splatter of red painted his face to match his partner's. He wouldn't mind another, his mind murmured and he didn't disagree. His haunches were coiling for him to pounce at his tutor but a knock at the door shoved the instinct away. "You're good," he croaked, hands balling up on his lap.

As expected, it was Yukio who entered the room. However, the young teacher paused, taking in the flushed features of his brother and his star pupil. "...Nii-san, are you sure two don't need more time?" the younger Okumura muttered, turning away in discomfort at the thought of what may have been happening before he opened the door.

"N-nah," the multicolored hair shook as Suguro came to a stand, "I was just leavin'."

Rin nodded dumbly, scrambling to stand as well.

"...If you two insist," pushing up his glasses with his index finger, Yukio's gaze avoided the pair while he walked over to his desk. It felt like getting right down to the paperwork was a better alternative than to taking any more notice to his brother's current issues. He pulled out papers from his coat and took a seat. "See you in class tomorrow, Suguro-kun."

"Yes, sensei," although he wasn't seen by the teacher, Suguro bowed.

"I'll walk you out," Rin announced, pulling Suguro out the door before the other could complain or protest. His tail wagged as they went down the stairs and along the halls in silence. By the time they reached the door, Suguro had had enough time to gather his wits together.

The taller cleared his throat, "Later, Oku..." Lightning fast, like the twitch of a butterfly wing, Rin darted out and kissed him. They stood there for several seconds, Rin's fingers light on his forearms, Suguro's face blank. Once the situation hit, he stumbled back, gaping at Rin's audacity. "The hell did ya just do, Okumura!?" it sounded more like a rasped whisper than the furious exclamation he was going for and muted himself as the half-demon hugged him. It began with a fidget of fingers and ended as an embrace.

Unlike before, they managed to stand there for longer, basking in the warmth of one another until Rin pulled back, smiled up brightly as if he hadn't just sent Suguro off balance, cheeks only faintly pink that time. "I'll see ya tomorrow, Suguro."

"O... oh," was Suguro's inarticulately-put response, "tomorrow." His head stiffly dipped and rose in what was supposed to be a nod before he grappled clumsily at the doorknob. Help was provided in the form of Rin's steadier hand, the door opening for him. "Thanks," came his mutter-garbled reply and he shuffled out under a sky that wasn't blue enough to be as blue as Rin's eyes. He remained at the porch before turning around to see that Rin was still watching him. Again, he uttered the word like he required confirmation, "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Rin affirmed quietly, fingers holding onto the door, blue eyes gleaming, "and the day after."

"And the day after that," Suguro added just as quietly, flushed as he turned away from the other and thought about how he wanted tomorrow to arrive already. Next time, he swore, he would be the one that would surprise Rin with a kiss.


End file.
